Making Friends
by thejewellsprincess9192
Summary: Collins gives a vague overview of how Gale and Katniss become friends. This story fills in the gaps left by the book.
1. Chapter 1

The sun shone through the leaves of the trees, as Katniss stalked silently through the forest. Her empty bag hung lightly against her back, reminding her of how unsuccessful she had been at finding any game on this October day. So far she had shot one squirrel that had practically run over her toes while chasing an acorn. Feeling weary from her trek through the woods, Katniss decided to find a good spot to eat the meager lunch she had packed earlier that morning before leaving her house. While everyone in District 12 struggled to survive, the Everdeen family struggled especially hard. Katniss' father had been killed in a mining accident six months prior. After his death, Katniss' mother had fallen into a debilitating depression. She rarely left her bed for anything, let alone to feed her two daughters. That left Katniss to fend for herself and her younger sister, Prim. Fortunately, Katniss' father had taught her a few survival skills before he died. Katniss could shoot a bow and identify a few edible plants.

Each day, Katniss would awaken early and head toward the boundary of District 12. She would stop at the fence to listen for the hum or the lack thereof that would let her know whether or not the fence was electrified. If the fence was not electrified, she would then slide under the spot that was not secured to the ground. Once in the woods, she would head to the hollow tree where her father had hidden the bows and arrows that they had used for hunting. Katniss wasn't a very good hunter, but she knew that hunting was her way to survive and to help her family survive.

Katniss nibbled at her bread, stretching what she had while wishing for more. If she would not have needed the money from yesterday's sale of two rabbits, there would have been plenty of meat for both that day's dinner and for the next day's lunch. Unfortunately, the money was needed more than the meat was. As Katniss popped the last crumb of bread into her mouth, she noticed something swinging from a nearby tree branch. Katniss quickly gathered her things and scurried to the tree. Upon closer inspection, Katniss realized she was looking at a rabbit caught in a snare. The snare's workmanship was better than any she had ever seen. Slowly she reached out examine the snare.

"Stealing is punishable by death, you know," the sound of the male voice startled Katniss. She quickly turned towards the young man stepping out from behind another tree. The young man was tall, well over six feet, with broad shoulders. His brown eyes had a steely glint in them, and his brows were furrowed with anger.

"I wasn't going to steal your snare or your game. I just wanted to get a better look at the snare. I have trouble making them." Katniss avoided looking him in the eye.

"So you hunt, too. What is your name?" the young man asked Katniss.

Because she was still feeling embarrassed that the young man had assumed she was going to steal his property, Katniss barely whispered her name.

"Catnip! That's an odd name. My name is Gale. How did you get that squirrel? " When Katniss raised her eyes, the young man's face had softened into a friendly grin, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Katniss realized that she had seen him at school. He was two years ahead of her.

"My name is Katniss, and I shot the squirrel." She said patting the bow that was slung across her back.

"I see. I've always wanted to learn to shoot. If you will teach me about shooting, I will teach you about making snares." Gale said.

"Okay," Katniss agreed.

"Meet me here tomorrow, and I'll teach you how to make some snares," Gale smiled at Katniss.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Katniss met Gale at the same tree where he had set his snare the day before. In her sack she had three squirrels she had shot and a few lengths of wire that she had previously traded a rabbit for. When she arrived at the tree, Gale was already there waiting for her. "Hey, Catnip!" he said quietly so as not to disturb any game nearby.

"Hi, Gale." Katniss said.

"Are you ready to start learning how to make some new snares?" he asked her with a smile.

"Yeah I am," Katniss answered him, not bothering to smile back.

Gale asked her if she has wire. When she reached into her bag and pulled it out, he grinned. Gale began by explaining what type of snare they were going to make and how it would work. After his explanation was done, he showed her how to do each step. Next he had her use her wire to make a snare, following his example.

"Wait a second, Katniss. You have to go over that wire, not under it." Gale gently corrected her with a smile.

"Oh, I see. That's where I have gone wrong before. Thanks, " Katniss appreciated Gale's help, but she still didn't smile.

When Katniss had finished her snare, Gale had her make the same one again. As they worked, Gale kept up a stream of friendly chatter. He told Katniss all about his mother and her job. He also told Katniss about his younger siblings. Katniss knew that his father had died in the same explosion that had killed her father. She remembered seeing him receive the Medal of Honor in his father's remembrance the same way she had received one in memory of her father.

Gale then asked her about her family. Katniss still wasn't sure how much she wanted to share with Gale. "I have one sister who is twelve. I try to make sure she has enough food and clothing," she told him.

"What about your mom? Isn't that partially her job?" Gale asked.

Katniss struggled to find an answer she was willing to share with Gale. "My mom has been really sick and isn't strong enough to work."

Gale took Katniss' finished snare and looked at it. It was sturdy and would hold a good sized squirrel. He helped Katniss hang her snare from a low branch then decided to teach her how to make another kind that would hold something bigger like a rabbit. He began his teaching process all over. This time when Katniss was making the snare, Gale reached over and guided her hands when Katniss began to have difficulties forming the knot in the snare. She looked up at him startled, but decided she trusted him enough to let him do this. As Gale helped her, he entertained her with funny stories about his siblings and their antics.

Katniss decided it was safe to open up to Gale a little. She began to tell him a story about Prim. "One day when I was heading home from the woods, I saw this scraggly, yellow kitten. It had gotten in a fight with another cat over a piece of food. Its ear was ripped open and bleeding. It was the ugliest thing I ever saw. I didn't figure the kitten would survive so I kept walking. When I looked back, I saw that the kitten was still following me. When I got home, I saw a bucket by the house. I grabbed the kitten and tried to end its miserable life, but it wouldn't die. As I walked inside, the kitten ran ahead of me. Prim saw the kitten, and thought that she must have it. Prim named him Buttercup. To this day, he hates me and I hate him."

Gale threw his head back and laughed. "I can't imagine anything hating you," he said.

Katniss reached over and playfully punched his arm. "Oh sush," she said.

Gale held a finger to his lips and pointed to the snare that Katniss had just hung from the branch. A large rabbit was sniffing at a patch of leaves near the snare. Suddenly the rabbit tripped the snare, and it met its fate. Katniss stared in amazement. Then she walked over to the snare and loosened the rabbit. She turned toward Gale and held the rabbit out. "If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten him. I want you to take him. Thank you, Gale."

"You're welcome. I can't take that Catnip. That's yours. You caught him fair and square." Gale told her with a smile.

"Tomorrow we'll start teaching you to shoot a bow." Katniss said as she smiled at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss awoke early the next morning. She rolled over slowly, trying not to wake up Prim. Once she was standing, Katniss pulled the blankets tighter around Prim then turned to get dressed. She scurried around the kitchen quickly packing herself a lunch of bread and some leftover rabbit from the night before.

Once she was out of the house, Katniss made herself walk calmly to the fence as not to alert the Peacekeepers to her activities. She was excited about teaching Gale to shoot. She would no longer feel like she owed him for the favor he did for her in teaching her to build snares. Katniss headed to the hollow tree to gather two bows and two quivers of arrows. After she had gathered her things, she headed to the tree where she and Gale had met.

Gale was waiting for at Katniss at the tree where Katniss had first found Gale's snare. "Hey Katniss," he said.

"Hi, Gale. Are you ready to learn to shoot a bow?" She mimicked the way he had asked her if she was ready to learn the day before, enjoying being in charge for once.

Gale grinned. "I am ready," he said with a small laugh at Katniss' air of importance.

Katniss glared at him. "This is serious business."

"I know. I'm sorry Katniss. I'll be a good little student now," he said with a glint in his eyes, no trace of apology in his voice.

Katniss unslung the larger of the two of the bows from over her shoulder and handed it to Gale. Then she handed him a quiver of arrows. She helped position the quiver on his back. Of course, Gale had to lengthen the strap that held it in place set it to fit Katniss' body.

"Where did you get these things?" Gale asked Katniss.

Katniss turned away from Gale, "I got them from my dad. He was the one that taught me to shoot."

"Oh," gale almost looked sorry that he had brought up something so painful for Katniss.

"Grab an arrow out of your quiver, and I'll show you how to knock it." Katniss told Gale. Once he had the arrow out of the quiver, Katniss knocked her own arrow as an example for Gale to follow. Then she explained what she had just done. Gale took his arrow and knocked it. Next Katniss showed Gale how to bring the bow up so that he was in the correct position to shoot without dropping the arrow.

"Now draw back the string," Katniss told him.

Gale's muscles flexed as he drew the string back with ease. Katniss then showed him how to aim. Once he had his target in his sights, Katniss instructed him to release the string. The arrow flew and knocked a leaf off a branch to the left of the tree trunk he was trying to hit.

"It's okay, you will get better with practice." Katniss reassured Gale. "You should have seen my first shot. We had set up a bale of straw that my dad had bought in our back yard while my mom kept watch for Peacekeepers. My arrow hit the glass jar of tea my mom had brewing in the sun. It exploded and went everywhere. "

At that, Gale threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. "I guess I could have been worse then." he told her.

After Gale had retrieved his arrow, Katniss had him keep shooting. The first several arrows missed their mark, but each one landed closer to their mark. Finally after about ten shots Gale hit his target. He looked at Katniss, a huge grin shining on his face.

"Good job," she told him with a big smile.

"Thanks," As Katniss watched Gale, his face fell.

"What's wrong?" Katniss asked him.

"I have kind begun to look forward to our sessions, but we won't have a reason to meet anymore," Gale said with a sad smile.

_I actually looked forward to coming to the woods when I was coming to meet him. Hunting is going to be going back to being boring. It's funny how having a friend can make any task easier. _That last thought surprised Katniss. "Maybe we could be hunting partners." Katniss suggested.

"Would you like to meet again tomorrow?" Gale asked. 

"Sure. Meet me where we met today." Katniss told him with a smile.


End file.
